When in 1867 Mary Baker Eddy first began to take pupils in order to teach them the Science of Christ, she taught from the Bible and she also turned these students to the Scriptures. Today, the Christian Science Quarterly Weekly Bible Lessons, whose topics she chose, fulfill a major role in helping anyone who studies them stay close to the Bible and explore its healing, spiritual meaning. This series offers some brief notes on the evolution of these Lessons.
January 1890 A new stage in the evolution of the Quarterly came in January of 1890 when The Christian Science Publishing Society began issuing Christian Science Bible Lessons as a separate monthly periodical distinct from the Journal. Mrs. Eddy had appointed a committee of four to prepare its contents. She gave considerable care to the selection of the committee members, for she saw the work as extremely important to the forwarding of her Church's mission. The original committee was made up entirely of her own students: Julia S. Bartlett, William B. Johnson, Ira O. Knapp, and the Reverend Lanson P. Norcross.
In April, after three issues of Christian Science Bible Lessons, this periodical was given the name Christian Science Quarterly. As its name indicated, each issue would cover a three-month period. The Lessons in this periodical continued to be based on the "Uniform Series of the International Sunday-School Bible Lessons." For instance, the first three subjects in the new Quarterly were "Law of Love," "Divine Compassion," and "Forgiveness and Love," topics correlating with the text of Luke, chapters 6 and 7.
